Definitions: Implications for Syntax, Semantics, and the Language of Thought / Edition 1

ISBN-13: 9780815331315 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Publication date: 08/01/1998 Series: Outstanding Dissertations in Linguistics Pages: 374 Product dimensions: 5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d) The answer to the question "How can we understand and use a definition?" provides new constraints on natural language and on the internal language in which meaning is mentally represented. Most syntax takes the sentence as the basic unit for well-formedness, but definitions force us to focus on words and phrases, and hence to focus on compositional syntax in parallel with compositional semantics. This study examines both dictionary definitions and definitions from textbooks, from the points of view of their syntax, semantics, and use for learning word meaning. The tools used throughout are Principles and Parameters syntax, Relevance theoretic pragmatics, Model theoretic semantics, and the formal theory of definitions. The analyses argue that because phrases can be understood in isolation, some stand